"Furthermore," Dumbledore said, "I want to assure you that all those affected by the Imperius curse have recovered, and while be released from the Hospital Wing tomorrow."

A chill ran through the crowd at his words. Not about all their cursed friends returning to normal, but about them receiving one of the forbidden curses in the first place. Since Ted himself was a forbidden curse survivor, he was a little less affected than the others.

"While I can assure you safety within Hogwarts, the ministry feels that until this threat has been dealt with, it is best you remain in school bounds. Therefore, all Hogsmeade trips will be suspended indefinitely."

A few of the students whispered at these words, but no one complained. They were still too shocked to complain.

Dumbledore paused. His eyes and shoulders looked heavy, but when he continued his voice was gentler. "Practicality aside, I wanted to speak with you plainly. The threat that we face is real. While I would love to assure that these extremists will be apprehended by the time you leave Hogwarts, I fear the violence and chaos they bring will not be that easy to quell. It is my aim to place renewed emphasis on Defense magic, so that we may prepare you as best we can for what the future holds, but even that pales in comparison to what the future may ask of you." A shadow passed across his face, but when he continued, his tone was significantly brighter. "Yet, more than anything, I hope to make your time at Hogwarts as fulfilling and enjoyable as it has ever been. Whatever lies outside, youths such as yourselves have a right to enjoy the last few years of their childhood before we thrust them out into the world. Therefore, my only request of you at this juncture is that you meet each day with a smile, ready to learn and grow and absorb knowledge as you have always done."

His eyes did that thing where they twinkled under his glasses before he said, "On that note, it's time you rested from this long weekend, and refresh your minds and bodies for a new day of learning tomorrow."

And on that note, he waved them all off to bed.

"Bless him," Ted said, "Bless him and his ability to put a positive spin on anything."

Andromeda made a face, but like always she was fighting off a smirk. She'd been quiet since her return from Hogsmeade, though after what she'd witnessed he couldn't blame her. She hadn't told him much, in fact, she'd barely spoken about it at all. She just refused to leave his side no matter how many times Madame Pomfrey begged. On the upside, Madame Pomfrey released him and Lorie sooner than she might have otherwise to focus her attention on the injured students.

Ted couldn't believe he'd missed it. Or rather, than Andromeda had suffered through all that while he'd been lounging away on a hospital bed. Even though it wasn't his fault, it still made him feel sick. He'd promised he'd keep her safe, and he'd failed.

That being said, they'd been luckier than most. Attacks like these had happened all over Britain, and all except theirs had ended with a couple muggleborns or blood traitors murdered. Ted was sure if Dumbledore hadn't arrived when he did, they'd have their own dead to add to the list.

"Ted, Andromeda!" Lily hissed as she scrambled through the milling students toward them. "Emergency meeting. Now."

"Aren't we supposed to be heading back to our common rooms?" Ted asked.

"Dumbledore gave us permission to linger," Gydion said, coming up behind her. "He knows this is important."

Ted shrugged, glancing at Andromeda. She was still oddly quiet, and she looked almost distant as she nodded.

Lily and Gideon gathered them all up in the Prefects Lounge. The Lounge wasn't as nice as the bathroom, but Ted couldn't help but admire the plethora of silk-cushioned chairs that all faced the roaring fireplace. He also couldn't help but notice the people missing from their ranks. Lupin, along with his gang of friends were all missing, and they refused to leave his bedside. Mary Mcdonald and Frank Longbottom hadn't returned either.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," Lily said once they were all assembled. "We'll keep this brief. You've all done an amazing job over the passed couple of months. Other than the incident with the Whomping Willow, there's been scarcely more than name-calling. But with the added threats of this supposed "Lord Voldemort" and his followers—"

"Death Eaters," said a voice from the back. Ted was surprised to see Barty Crouch striding toward the front, and he wasn't the only one who stared at the newcomer in shock. There were no other Slytherins in their little group, save Andromeda. While Crouch had helped the muggleborns out a of a couple tight spots before, he didn't seem like the guy to put his neck out for them either. But then, Ted hadn't thought he himself would be some sort of freedom fighter either, and yet here he was.

"They're calling themselves Death Eaters," Barty said as he stopped in front of Lily.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

"My dad told me," Barty said. His usually warm face was incredibly grim. "And they are so much more dangerous than the Ministry or the Daily Prophet are letting on. Once Barty was sure he had everyone's attention, he said, "Yesterday, their leader, this Lord Voldemort, broke into the ministry itself."

"Did they figure out who he really is?" Edgar Bones asked.

"No. He kept his face hidden, and eventually the ministry forced him to flee, but not before he killed three Aurors."

"Is he crazy?" Fabian Prewett asked.

"He's declaring war," Barty Crouch said. "The Ministry refuses to report it this way yet, but my father said he made his intentions clear. If we don't bow to his ways he'll burn us to the ground."

"How would you father feel," Lily asked, "if he knew you were telling us this?"

"He'd throw a fit, I suppose," Barty said with a cold smile, "but it's not about what my father wants, or what any of us want, really. Dumbledore's right. Those Death Eaters won't attack here. They probably won't attack Hogsmeade again either, not with Dumbledore so close. But take it from someone who knows, there are plenty here who will carry on the Death Eaters work in whatever form they can. And they'll find a way to hurt you, no matter what Dumbledore promises."

"So you're here to what?" Lily asked. "Tell us to stand down?"

"I'm here to join you," Barty said, his eyes glowing, "if you'll have me." The shocked looks on everyone's faces increased. Andromeda had made herself a clear blood traitor, but Barty had never spoken up about muggleborn matters before. Even the few times he'd intervened seemed more about upholding school rules then actually protecting muggleborns.

When no one said anything or way or another, Barty continued, "Slytherin has been my family's house for generations, but unlike the others, we saw the strength and power that comes from muggleborns and halfbloods. My father's stood up for them time and time again, and until yesterday, I didn't realize the price he might pay for it. I'm not letting them take my father from me without a fight."

Silence followed his words again, but it was different than before. Barty's words hit home.

After a few moments of still silence, Lily said, "We may be safe here, but we all have families, friends, and others we care about who are not. This isn't just about us anymore, it's about the whole world, and we're going to be prepared to meet it." The moment she said those words, Ted thought about his mother. He could only imagine the grisly fate that would befall her if these creepy Death Eaters got the world they wanted. Just thinking about it made him feel worse than any illness ever could.

"We'll welcome any who want to join us in that fight." She gave Barty a sanctimonious nod. With Lily's approval, everyone else seemed to warm up to Barty. If Ted wasn't mistaken, he thought he saw a tear in Crouch's eye. He must have meant that little speech about his father. Ted had never realized they were that close, since Barty spent more time complaining about him than anything else, but it just went to show that people were more than they seemed.

Lily went over the rest of their plan, which was learning defense magic and then teaching it to others in the school, before she finally dismissed them. Ted was ready to head straight to bed. All this talk of fighting and Death Eaters and dark wizards had him all wigged out, and he was ready to bury himself in his blankets and pillows and not think about anything magic related for the next eight hours. Well, maybe with a little time to snog Andromeda first. They hadn't snogged in a whole two days and he was getting thirsty.

Andromeda, however, made her way over to Barty. "What were you saying," she asked him, "about fighting being foolish?"

"Oh, it is," Barty said with a smile, "but maybe the world needs a little foolish right now." Barty clapped her shoulder and then nodded to Ted as he left.

"What was that about?" Ted asked once he was out of earshot. That felt like the middle of a conversation, not the beginning of one.

"Nothing," Andromeda said, a soft smile playing on her lips as well, "It's just nice to know I'm not the only sane one in my house."

Ted forced a smile as well, but it didn't reach his eyes. It felt strange, feeling like an outsider with one of Andromeda's friends, as he assumed she and Barty were friends with the way they smiled at each other. He should be grateful she had a friend that wasn't one of his or her cousin, but the thought of that friend being Barty left a weird taste in his mouth.

Pushing the thought from his mind, he asked Andromeda the only other question on his mind. "Hey, do you think your sister and the others being here had anything to do with that attack?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, looking away. His heart sank. She only did that when she was hiding something.

"Andromeda—"

"Ted, please." She looked back at him, her eyes filling up with tears for some reason. "Don't ask me about this."

He stared at her. She knew something about her sister and the others, and she was purposefully not telling him. A part of him wanted to demand she tell him, but staring at her tear-filled eyes, all he could was nod.

Relief flooded her features, and he looked away so she wouldn't the see the dark look that passed over his own. He'd thought they were passed the stage where they were keeping stuff from each other, but he was wrong.